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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25138162">The Power of Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AleizeClaire/pseuds/AleizeClaire'>AleizeClaire</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Power Of Series [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Criminal Minds (US TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Family Drama, OTP Feels, Slow Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 11:14:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25138162</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AleizeClaire/pseuds/AleizeClaire</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Love is like a violin, the music may stop now and then, but the strings remain forever. Inspired by the Celine Dion song of the same title. One night was all Dave and Erin planned for, just one night of stolen affections and they would never look back. They didn't count on fate's helpful shove and an overactive biological clock. *WINNER* of Best Rossi\Strauss in the 2014 PCAs</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>David Rossi/Erin Strauss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Power Of Series [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1820932</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rated: Heavy T </p>
<p>Love is like a violin. The music may stop now and then, but the strings remain forever.<br/> -Anonymous</p>
<p> It was too complex to try to explain how or why they had ended up like this. His teeth grazing down her collar-bone. Her hands wrapped around his shoulders anchoring herself to him. While she moved her lips down his jawbone. Everything, all the pain that they had inflicted on one another over the last two decades melted into nothingness right there in that hotel room. Her clothes were lost on their way to the bed, his shirt twisted in her fingers, unwilling to let him go. "This isn't over." His hot breath grazed her earlobe as his mouth continued down her body. A little older than he remembered-where did the time go?- but still the same as when he last touched her. "Far from it," she muttered, bringing him back to the present. She pushed him on his back, unbuttoning his shirt with frenzied fingers. Slowly her teeth nipped at his nipple before trailing down his chest. His low moan brought her closer to the peak of pleasure. Knowing that she could please him as easily as he could her, her hands pressed against his chest as he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked greedily. Her head ducked into his shoulder leaving her mark against the tender skin there. For one night he was hers and hers alone. One more time. One more night. And she would never look back. Just one more time, he told himself just one last time and he would never look back. Her pleasured cries stirred him as he moved from her breast to the spot just below her ear. They never locked lips He longed to taste them but they never kissed. Not once. Only licked and suckled. And bit. Only here in their secluded room in the cover of darkness while the big-wigs of the Bureau enjoyed their whiskey and cigars. They stole that night for themselves. Old habits never died and Erin Strauss had always been his drug of choice. He was an addict and help was the last thing he wanted. He sat up and pushed her against the pillows, her limbs sprawled across the mattress. She whimpered as he dragged his bottom lip from her wrist up to her elbow. Suckling on the pulse point he knew drove her crazy. She fought to catch her breath as ripples of pleasure coursed through her body. As she reached for the nightstand. He grabbed her wrist. "How old are we?" He growled, his eyes dark with desire and want. "Old enough to know better," she gasped. "Young enough not to care." She pulled her arm away from the nightstand. "Enough talking. You have better things to do with that mouth." "Your wish is my command," he said and lowered himself to cover her nakedness with his body. "How long before they realize we're not there?" He murmured against her skin, his goatee tickled the sensitive valley between her breasts. Kissing each one, he moved his head lower across her stomach down to the v between her thighs. "They never notice," she sighed and arched against his knowing fingers. "Not as long as the cigars are stocked and the cards are stacked. Ohhhh;.." She breathed on a moan "David." </p>
<p>"So wet. Just for me." He stroked her slowly, her hips undulating under his ministrations. "That's it, Bellissima," he encouraged, "come for me." Somewhere in the far recesses of her mind, Celine Dion's 'The Power of Love', began to play. "You're trying to kill me," she panted, her body arched and jerked as the coil inside wound down tighter. She wanted him to stop. She wanted him to go faster. "Oh! Oh! Too much;too much." She tried to catch her breath, but he pushed her to the edge. "More oh. Oh!" Slipping a finger in her hot, wet core, he thrust gently and reveled in the way her body tightened and clamped down as a powerful fire consumed Erin from head to toe. Crying out his name her fingers dug into the comforter as her hips lifted seeking him. Dave took that invite. Covering her mouth with his, he swallowed her cries of release and filled her body with one powerful thrust of his hips. He waited a moment for her to adjust to his size. Lifting himself on his elbows, he looked into her blue eyes before setting the pace.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Better be courted and jilted Than never be courted at all.<br/>                                                                                  -Thomas Campbell</p><p> </p><p>"So, will it be pink or blue balloons this time?" Dave asked JJ as they walked back inside the BAU bullpen, past the maze of desks and into the kitchenette, helping themselves to the coffee. JJ stopped in her tracks, her hand poised over the cupboard door. She Smiled slightly in disbelief.<br/>"Excuse me?" She asked.<br/>"Look, I saw the test in the head on the jet; I'm not going to say anything," he said, shrugging his shoulders.<br/>"Rossi, that pregnancy test isn't mine."<br/>"You saw it too?" He asked, knitting his brow.<br/>"Yeah."<br/>"So, if it's not yours, and Garcia and Prentiss are in London, who else is there?"<br/>"It could be an old one maybe," JJ explained. "Somebody had a false alarm."<br/>"That trash gets dumped every time the jet is refueled. Anything that was in that trashcan from when Prentiss was on-board was history before we left for Maryland," Rossi said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.<br/>"Rossi, I never took you for a gossip," JJ said, amusement coloring her tone.<br/>"I'm not, I'm just trying to figure this out."<br/>"You're profiling a jet?" JJ shook her head in disbelief.<br/>"I like to keep my skills sharp."<br/>"I'll leave you to your guessing game, I've got paperwork to finish." JJ made her good-byes, walking toward her desk.<br/>The wheels in Dave's head continued to turn as he walked up the steps of the catwalk and into his office. Sitting down at his desk, the answer hit him like a bolt of lightning. Slapping his palm over his face, he groaned. God, he hated feeling stupid, but now he felt like a complete idiot. Ever since that night in the hotel, Erin had been distant. Anytime they were in the same room she made a quick exit. She was even more aloof while they were in Maryland. She hardly said ten words to him and he was the one to start that conversation.<br/>"Dammit!" He muttered. Within seconds he was headed towards Erin's office. His heart thundered in his chest He threw open the door. Her startled expression when she looked up from her files did nothing to slow him down.<br/>"What is this?" He demanded, slapping the plastic stick down on her desk.<br/>Erin shot him a pointed glare.<br/>"What does it look like?" She returned with experienced aloofness. Nothing would fizzle the Italian Stallion's temper faster than apathy.<br/>"Were you ever going to tell me?"<br/>Erin swiveled in her office chair. Her eyes were guarded and revealed nothing, but her tone was even and measured. "I was going to tell you as soon as I knew for sure, but since you like to snoop around airplane bathrooms...well, telling you now that I might be pregnant would be pointless. Don't you agree?"<br/>"Why didn't you tell me there was even a possibility of this happening? What were you planning to do? Wait until you pop and leave me to do the math? Or were you just going to take care of this on your own so no one would know you slept with me!"<br/>"I figured this pregnancy meant as much to you as I did," she shrugged. "So, what would it matter what I decide? The last time I looked, the law favored a woman's right to choose."<br/>His fists clenched with rage as her meaning dawned on him. "You were going to kill my child?" He rasped, his voice raw from emotions running wild within him.<br/>Shock and hurt were clear in her tone. "That's what you thought I was going to do? I am forty-five years old, David, and it's a miracle that I got pregnant at all! How would you even think that I would consider something like -"<br/>Dave cut her off. "Come on, Erin, don't talk like you haven't thought about it. You obviously don't want to have my kid. If you did, you would have told me about it. Since we're weighing all your options-" The malice in his tone was enough to send shivers down The Devil's spine.<br/>"Get. The. Hell. Out." Erin ordered in a deadly tone. The look in her eyes assured her intent.<br/>She heard the door slam before she realized that he really had walked out. Blinking back hot tears, she tried to gather her thoughts. The thought of Dave walking out on their child hurt more than his action.<br/>She was more than comfortable with being a single parent, but knowing the risks of having another baby at her age, she couldn't help but worry. She didn't want to leave this child – or any of her children – without a mother if she didn't survive the birth. Which, given the advances in medical technology, her death wasn't likely. Although, 'not likely' wasn't the same as impossible.<br/>If David didn't want to be a father, then her baby would be at the mercy of her three eldest children. That should be a fun reveal, she mused with a sigh, telling the three teenagers their mother had an unprotected one-night-stand with a subordinate/ex-lover, resulting in a baby barely a year after she was hauled off to rehab by another subordinate.<br/>She leaned back in her chair, her eyes never left the ceiling.<br/>Dave thundered back inside his office, slamming the door behind him. He stood behind his desk digging through one of the top cupboards. Tossing books and folders aside he pulled the heavy glass decanter towards him. His hands shook with anger and shock sloshing the amber colored liquid in the bottle. Lowering the bottle toward the desk, his hand slipped and with a mighty crash the bottle lay shattered on the floor.<br/>Hotch looked up from his paperwork when his office window shook from the force of Dave's door. He jumped to his feet when he heard the sound of breaking glass. He could distinctly hear Dave muttering none too quietly about a spare bottle. Hotch listened intently when he heard his friend slamming a drawer closed. He knew he should have been worried that his best friend kept not one, but two bottles of liquor in his FBI office. No, what worried him was that Dave was actually breaking them out. Leaving his office Hotch headed down the hallway. Stopping by the custodian's closet, he grabbed a broom and a dustpan before doubling back and entering Dave's office.<br/>"Thought you knew how to knock, Hotch," Dave muttered, staring at his empty tumbler as if he were debating whether or not to fill it. The broken shards of crystal lay under his chair reflecting the sunset on the wall.<br/>"Dave, you shook my windows when you slammed the door. What's going on? We both know you don't break out a bottle in the office without a good reason."<br/>After a beat of silence, Aaron grabbed the bottle and the glass he poured a heavy measure and pushed it towards Dave. "You drink, I'll drive."<br/>Dave lifted the glass and its contents disappeared in a gulp. Normally he would have sipped the fortifying liquid, savored it. Right now he needed to catch a buzz fast.<br/>"I slept with Erin," Dave confessed, refilling the glass and knocking it back.<br/>"After JJ's wedding. Yeah, I kind of figured," Aaron admitted, thinking back to the way the couple couldn't keep their hands off each other. Anyone paying attention knew that they were just waiting for an opportunity to sneak away.<br/>Dave poured another glass and held it as the last two drinks caught up to him. Usually he would have stopped right there but desperate times called for desperate measures and a lot of Scotch.<br/>"I got her pregnant, Aaron. I didn't even think that was a possibility. Erin didn't clue me in at all. She took the test on the jet on the way home. She didn't even seem happy. She wasn't planning on telling me, Hotch. Which begs the question what she would have done had I not found the test and confronted her."<br/>"What did you say to her?" Hotch probed gently.<br/>"Let's just say it wasn't pretty and leave it at that."<br/>"What are you going to do?"<br/>"I started with that, good guess." Dave tipped the glass in Hotch's direction. With a scowl before knocking it back.<br/>"I wasn't guessing, I'm asking you what you're going to do."<br/>"I don't know, Hotch, I didn't exactly draw up a blueprint for a one-night gone sour," Dave said with a scowl.<br/>"You're thinking that she really is pregnant. I'm not saying Strauss is lying, but that one test could have been false positive. Has she made an appointment?"<br/>"Menopause. Hell, I didn't think about," Dave nodded, snapping his fingers in the air. " I'm willing to bet that stick lied. How bad do I smell?" Dave asked, as he stood.<br/>"Pretty bad, Dave. You can bother her assistant after you've slept it off. Let's clean up the mess and get out of here."<br/>Aaron took the broom and swept up the glass while Dave put the discarded papers back in their proper place.<br/>"Perfectly good, top-shelf whiskey wasted on a stick of plastic," Dave grumbled, shaking his head as Hotch emptied the dustpan into the trash.<br/>"You know I heard you muttering about a spare, do I want to know what else you hide in here?" Aaron asked, slightly amused.<br/>"No, Aaron, you most definitely do not," Dave warned as they boarded the elevator.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?</p><p>                                                                                  -Alexander Pope</p><p>Dave rolled over and buried his face in the pillow, he gave it a few hard thunks and closed his eyes again. And just like every other time, thoughts of babies and a bitch woke him up. If only he had worn the condom. Only his Catholic upbringing combined with his own stupidity could be blamed. He'd been with enough women in his fifty-seven years to know how to avoid conception. His avoidance ruined his first marriage.</p><p>"Only lay down with a woman, Davie, if you're really sure about her. Then you don't have to worry about birth control," his mother's warning resounded in his mind. A little too late, in his humblest of opinions.</p><p>He scrubbed his eyes with his hand, his head was spinning with the events of yesterday. After Hotch dropped him off, he helped himself to another half bottle of Scotch and fell into a restless sleep. Now that the initial shock was gone, he needed a good plan.</p><p>Or just a plan.</p><p>It was still early when Dave got to Quantico, but it was no surprise that the light in Hotch's office was on while the rest of the team probably weren't even out of their beds. In the time it took to start another pot of coffee, Dave decided what he needed to do.<br/>He had to approach Erin head on if he was going to get anywhere. Even though the idea of never knowing his child made his chest ache, he would be surprised if Erin so much as looked at him after the way he spoke to her. But there was one thing David Rossi was good at, winning the hearts of woman everywhere.</p><p>He filled two mugs and headed towards Erin's office. His heart pounded restlessly as he approached the door. Sitting a one mug on the table outside, he knocked twice and let himself inside and closed the door.<br/>"Can I help you with something?" Erin asked, barely flicking her gaze away from the paperwork that cluttered the desk.<br/>Dave kept his voice even, but inside his organs trembled with apprehension,"I have something important to tell you. And I want you to listen. Just give me one minute."</p><p>She didn't lift her head to give him so much as a glance. "You have thirty seconds." She was dismissing him before he had even taken a stand.<br/>"Will you look at me, Erin please. This is hard enough already."</p><p>She kept writing, her eyes trained on the report in front of her. "Forty-five seconds. What do you want, vacation time? A raise? Last I heard, you were still a best-selling author."<br/>"This isn't about work, Erin. I'm here to talk about-"</p><p>"Fifteen-" she cut him off, reminding him he was on borrowed time.<br/>Dave's voice rose in his throat, "Stop playing games with me. Put that pen down and look me in the eye."<br/>It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that he could go on a one way trip to hell on the fastest train, if it meant she never had to see him again. She continued to scribble for a few more seconds, but she could feel his eyes burrowing into her. There was only one way to make him go away, she told herself, let him have his say.</p><p>Affronted, she stabbed the pen into its holder. With the mental image of Dave's face at the bottom. "Make it quick, as you can see I'm very busy."</p><p>"Marry me, Erin. Let me give my child a name," he stated evenly and concise. But he promised himself that he wouldn't plead and make a fool of himself.<br/>Years of raising children and dealing with subordinates had taught her to conceal her emotions. But his request still hit her in the gut. Her eyes leveled with his, and her tone was cool. Inside she was shaking. "Now I know I'm not the only one playing games here, Dave."</p><p>"I'm serious-" Screw his promise not to plead, he was ready to go down on his knees - anything to make her see that he meant every word.<br/>"No, you're not, you're still drunk," she scoffed. According to the security guards, he left the building reeking of Single Malt.<br/>Dave stepped forward and placed one of the mugs on her desk, "I'm as serious as a heart attack."</p><p>Erin picked up her pen again, signaling that his time was up, "Let me think about it...No. And while you're on your way to hell, you can take that coffee with you."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Love is just a word until it is proven to you.</p><p>                                                                                                               -Unknown</p><p>"Marriage," Erin scoffed as the office door closed behind him; that asinine suggestion made her heart speed in aggravation. Why couldn't he be like any other man in this situation? 'What situation?' A small part of her mind asked. She had to admit, two missed cycles and one cheap test didn't mean a lot.</p><p>And after three wives he should have known that. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone, there was only one way to be sure.</p><p>The two weeks after Erin told him to go to hell were spent in Los Angeles; that was close enough. He settled back in his seat, no one had gotten much rest while they were gone. The team was all in various stages of sleep, Reid's book covered his face, Morgan's eyes were shut with his headphones covering his ears in the middle section, Hotch sat towards the front near JJ and Dave sat on the side. His head was pounding and it didn't matter how much he tried to compartmentalize, his mind wouldn't shut down.</p><p>"I'm guessing Strauss hasn't called you," Hotch said, coming towards him. Wth two steamy mugs in his hand.<br/>Dave accepted the cup of coffee. "And why would you say that?"<br/>Hotch kept his voice low, "From the moment we touched down you've been checking your phone every half hour."<br/>Dave arched an eyebrow, and said in mock sternness,"I thought I taught you how to turn that off. He wagged his finger towards Hotch "No Inter-team profiling, remember?"</p><p>Hotch grinned in apology, "Force of habit, do you want to talk about it?"<br/>Dave sighed heavily, he kept his voice low, mindful of the other team members. "She doesn't want anything to do with me. Before we left I went to talk to her, she wouldn't even look at me."</p><p>"What did you say?"<br/>Dave measured his words carefully, "I told her to marry me."<br/>"You told Strauss to marry you?" Hotch asked, stifling a chuckle. Of all Dave's romantic mistakes This was one for the record books. No one could tell Erin anything and expect to get their way.<br/>Dave slapped his hands against his knees in exasperation, "I'll admit, it wasn't the most romantic proposal, but it got the job done. The important thing is, that the baby gets my name."</p><p>"And what did she say?" Hotch said, inclining his head.<br/>"She told me to go to hell and then, she sent me there," Dave let his gaze drift toward the mini-bar. His tone turned solemn, "Maybe it is for the best."<br/>Hotch's head snapped up in alarm, he'd never heard Dave give up on anything. "Why would you say that?"</p><p>"What could I offer a child now, at this stage of life?"<br/>"You're great with Jack," Hotch offered.<br/>"Yeah, on weekends and during Soccer season, but I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack by the second half of the game." Dave rubbed his chest absently. His voice choked, "I'll be in a wheelchair by the time my kid graduates. What kind of life is that for them?"</p><p>"Do you know how many times I've considered taking myself out of the field since Haley died? Hotch's voice wavered, "Because I'm afraid if something happened to me, I would leave Jack with nothing more than memories of a happy childhood?"</p><p>Dave took a sip of coffee before answering."No, Aaron, I don't tell me."<br/>"Once."<br/>"Just once?" Dave asked, surprised.</p><p>"It was right after Erin gave me the option to retire, I thought if my own brother didn't bother to come to Haley's funeral I didn't have another choice. But then, Jessica offered to help, then JJ and Penelope stepped in. You coach soccer, and Morgan and Reid have helped with homework on more than one occasion." Hotch chuckled at the memory, "The point is, I know I'm not leaving him alone. And you won't have to either."</p><p>"This is different. It's not that simple." Dave protested.<br/>"How?"<br/>"Strauss is my superior, sleeping with her wasn't legal. I'm not saying I need my benefits but it goes against regulations."<br/>"One of you will have to step down" Hotch said flatly, "that doesn't change anything. You told me if you'd had a reason to, you might have tried harder in your marriages. You have that reason now, Dave and it won't be around forever." Hotch said, turning back towards his seat.</p><p>Dave reached for his phone, "Hey Hotch?"<br/>Hotch turned around.<br/>"Thanks."<br/>"Anytime."</p><p>The ringing of the phone barely registered in Erin's ears as she knelt in front of the toilet bowl; her world spun as she repeatedly lost the contents of her stomach. She was going to kill David, she was going to flay him alive as soon as she could move.<br/>****</p><p>Dave parked his car in front of her split-level home, after five ignored calls it was time for him to take matters into his own hand. He didn't see her car it was probably still parked in the garage. She wouldn't be at work on a Saturday. He caught sight of the recycling bins on the curb; overflowing with plastic soda bottles and aluminum cans. His profiler instinct kicked into high gear, was that normal?</p><p>He wiped his feet on the welcome mat and rang the doorbell. Tracking mud on what was sure to be immaculate carpet, wouldn't do him any favors.</p><p>Erin opened the door slowly, stopping halfway when she saw who dared to darken her doorstep. "Get the hell off my porch!"</p><p>"Erin," Dave pleaded, "hear me out."<br/>"Sending you to voice mail half a dozen times wasn't clear enough? I don't give a damn what you have to say."</p><p>She slammed the door but, it was met with his foot on the doorjamb.<br/>Her eyes narrowed in slits,"I'm reaching for my service weapon-" she warned.<br/>"Really Erin?" He arched an eyebrow, "You're threatening to shoot me; I've heard that one before."</p><p>"I know, three ex wives and countless lovers," she griped. "Let me think, there was, Carolyn, Angie, Karen, Janice – Donna and Tracy. Those are the ones I know about; not to mention, Jareau, Prentiss and Agent Seaver. Though, I have to admit, that last one surprised me."<br/>Dave voice rose in his throat, his reputation was bad enough, without Erin adding fuel to the fire,"I've never slept with any member of my team and you know it."</p><p>She fixed him with a pointed look, "Oh you haven't have you?"<br/>"What's your point?" Dave said forcefully, it was safer to let it go than to point out her hypocrisy. "What's the point in dragging up my past when you know that's not who I am now."</p><p>"That's not who you are, now." She scoffed, her tone laced in bitterness. "Sure you've changed. You've downgraded; from Love 'em and Leave 'em. To Love 'em and Leave 'em Knocked Up."</p><p>"We both know I'm terrible with relationships." It was a weak and selfish argument, but it was the truth, "But that doesn't mean that I don't want to try-"<br/>"You don't know how to stop trying—" She cut in.</p><p>"You're right, I don't."<br/>She blinked, baffled, had she heard him right? "What?"</p><p>"I'm trying to do the right thing, I'm bad with love, I'm bad with romance, but that doesn't mean I can't be a good father. Will you give me the chance to prove it?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nobody's interested in sweetness and light.<br/>                                                                                                    -Hedda Hopper</p><p>The porch creaked as Dave stepped closer to her his hand came to rest on the door frame. "What do you say Erin, will you bet on me?"</p><p>Her heart beat an erratic tattoo in her chest; she should fight, she should stomp on that bastard's foot and slam the door in his face. But she couldn't, her heart was caught in a net by the sincerity in his eyes. Hook, line and sinker.</p><p>"I don't know." She answered, using what little good sense he left her with "I'm not sure if it's worth it."<br/>"You're not saying 'no," he challenged reaching for her hand.</p><p>"I'm not saying 'yes' either," she retorted, yanking away from him, frustration leaking from her every pore,"you don't get it. My whole life has been uprooted because of what we did! One of us is going to lose their job and we both know if you have your way, I'll be the one to step down. I'd be putting my entire life in your hands, already I run the risk of losing the respect of my kids and uprooting their lives and for what!" Her voice softened "Why should I?"</p><p>Dave started to weigh his words, then stopped. The answer was painfully simple,<br/>"Because we love each other," he replied softly.<br/>"Get off my porch," she growled and pushed the door closed. At the last second, Dave stuck his foot in. "What are you doing?"<br/>"We're not finished, Erin." Dave put his weight against the door and gave a shove. Standing in the foyer, Erin and Dave eyed one another warily. It was win, lose or draw, and neither was going to make it easy for the other.</p><p>"I told you to leave."<br/>"And I said we're not finished. I told you why we should try. Then you tried to slam the door in my face. I want to hear what you really have to say."<br/>"You want to know how I feel," she snorted.<br/>"Lay it on me." He said, spreading his arms wide, "No games, Erin total honesty."<br/>With both hands on her hips, she nailed into him, he wanted honesty, and she aimed to please,<br/>"I'm tired. Tired of being another notch on your bedpost I know you want to be a father. Twice after Carolyn destroyed you; you came crawling to me, but I can't be your back up plan anymore. I can't be the one to help you rewrite history."</p><p>Acid washed his gut, this was going to end before they had the chance to begin. "What does Carolyn have to do with any of this?"</p><p>Erin shook her head, her voice lowered to barely a whisper,"She gave you James and I can't compete with that."<br/>For the barest of seconds she could read the agony in his eyes; ripping his heart out and eating it in front of him, might have been less painful than using his dead son as a weapon against him. But it was too late to take it back.<br/>His eyes hard in determination he glared at her, "Do you want know what your problem is? You can't stand the fact that I'm trying to do the right thing, that you can't play the victim of a Loveless Lothario and that makes you crazy!"<br/>"That's what you're worried about!" She huffed, that figures. Of course his reputation at the water-cooler would be at the forefront of his mind. "Well, I can assure you that your bad name doesn't need any help from me. You can rest easy now," she promised, pulling the door wide.<br/>He caught her wrist on the door frame. "I'm not done."<br/>"Yes you are!"</p><p>"Come on, Erin, give me one reason why we shouldn't be together. Aside from the fact that you're too damn stubborn to admit, that once upon a time you had feelings for me. Not just for me, you're too stubborn to admit that once upon a time you weren't so fucking frozen."</p><p>Heat crept up her neck and into her face, "Who the hell are you calling frozen?" Her voice took a deadly tone. "I'll tell you why we shouldn't be together, Rossi, I've never felt a damn thing for you except contempt."</p><p>Dave's eyebrow raised in a gesture of challenge, "If that was true, Sweetheart why did you end up in my bed?"<br/>"I'm at my peak and you were easy." She shrugged her shoulders, this was the kind of sparing she was used to.<br/>"There's a thin line between love and hate, try something else."</p><p>"What's the point in being married if we're going to make each other miserable?"<br/>"We've never given our relationship any longer than one night. Try something else, Erin."<br/>She eyed him, measuring her response, "Work. Your team, what will they think? I'm the boss who fucked their friend," she spat.</p><p>"So what? You said it yourself, you're stepping down anyway; and that's an excuse, a cop out. If you can't give me an answer, Erin, I swear that I am going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you down to Father Jimmy's and have him marry us."</p><p>"Prove to me that this is what you really want, and I'll consider your proposal," she said evenly.<br/>"Okay. You want to play 'politician' and dance around the issue? I'll tell you why we should be together. We fit—we always have, we are fire and ice, Heaven and Hell rolled into two people-"<br/>"For two people that 'fit' so well, we can't be in the same room without fighting!" She cut in.</p><p>"I'm not the on who's fighting!"<br/>"Really? You're not? Well, I didn't think your voice could get any louder!"</p><p>Dave yanked his hand through his hair in irritation,"I can't do this. I can't keep having you pull me in both directions and expect me to tell you what I'm doing and where I'm going with this. I try to tell you what I think you should hear, and you don't listen I'm like the broken compass you expect to tell you which way is north, then you bang me against the fucking wall when I get it wrong. You want me gone? Okay." Dave held up his hands in defeat. "Your wish is my command." He turned on his heel and yanked the door open.<br/>"What do you want from me, Dave? Do you want me to hit my knees in gratitude because you offered to marry me out of obligation?"</p><p>"You can't see the forest for the trees. I'm not the hurdle keeping you from happiness..." He sighed. "It's you. It's not whether I want you or why I want to marry you, it's that you don't want it."<br/>"Who the hell do you think you are? The reason you want to get married is an issue-"</p><p>His eyes held hers, "I know who I am, I'm the guy handing you my heart and soul on a platter. What does it matter why we get married when all I want to do is marry you. I'm asking. I'm begging. I'm pleading with you to marry me. I don't care about how we get to the finish line, but that we got there. You want to make this about you. And what I want isn't enough for you. The sad part is that it wouldn't be...no matter what. Goodbye, Erin." Dave slammed the door behind him.</p><p>The sound of the slamming door echoed through the living room, for the second time in less than a month she let him walk out on her. But this time he wasn't coming back.</p><p>"There you go, you got what you wanted, you told him to leave, and you've cost your child its father. Happy?" Her conscience berated.<br/>Her knees went weak she sank into an armchair, as the reality of the situation set in. Waiting for the inevitable screech of the tires in her driveway. He didn't have to come here, this conversation didn't have to happen. She flew out of her seat and tore the door open, "David Rossi, we're not finished."</p>
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